Ga Rural Bank to open more branches

THE Ga Rural Bank has initiated moves to open three more branches within Accra.
The bank has, therefore, entered into discussions with the Bank of Ghana to enable it meet the needed requirements for opening more branches to serve customers within its catchment areas.
The move, when successful, will bring the bank’s branches to nine.
The outgoing Board Chairman of the bank, Mr Joseph N. A. Hyde, told shareholders at the bank’s 19th Annual General Meeting at Amasaman, Accra that the bank was pursuing available opportunities that would enable it expand its operations within its catchment area. 
“We are looking at Mandela and Kasoa in the Ga South and Agyen Kotoku in the Ga West Districts”, the chairman stated.
Touching on the bank’s operations in the past year, Mr Hyde said the bank recorded “a modest profit after taxation of GH¢211,756 from a total income of GH¢1,642,657”, a 10.96 per cent increase from the previous year’s profit.
According to him, the board had thus maintained last year’s dividend of GH¢0.002 per share; an amount some of the shareholders said was woefully inadequate.
He noted that the bank's improved share sales had brought its stated capital to GH¢281.278, "which exceeds the minimum capital prescribed by the BoG". He, therefore,  urged the bank's shareholders to continue to buy shares to enhance the bank's share price.
Touching on the bank's corporate social responsibility activities during the year under review, the outgoing board chair said the bank spent GH¢16,404 to support communities, projects and institutions within its catchment area.
"Again, we awarded 10 scholarships to deserving senior high school entrants in the catchment  areas, bringing to 92 the number of recipients since the inception of the scheme 14 years ago,” Mr Hyde added.
He also called on the bank’s loan beneficiaries to endeavour to pay back their loans on time to enable the bank function as expected.
The shareholders later elected two of the bank’s directors to replace Mr Hyde and Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, who had both served 10 years on the bank’s board.
The election which is the first of its kind in the bank’s 27-year-old history was conducted by electoral officers from the Ga West Municipality.
Out the 273 valid votes cast, Mr G. T. Mensah, a parasitologist with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Nana Bram Okae II pulled 124 and 111 votes respectively.
 Mr Hyde, the third majority individual shareholder of the bank, later said though he could have opted for the ‘share per vote’ ballot, he decided to use the individual shareholder to a vote because he had the bank at heart.